Aero Ektar 4x5 Speed Graphic Film Test - Graflex Large Format Portrait Kodak Tri-X Blue Moon Camera

Описание: This is the famous Kodak Aero Ektar lens, mounted to a 4x5 Graflex Speed Graphic camera with a focal plane shutter with speeds to 1/1000th.

This combination allows us to create stunning large format portraits with hyper-shallow depth of field and silky bokeh, let’s take a closer look at this remarkable kit.

The Kodak Aero Ektar began life as an aerial surveillance lens.

These optics were mounted in the belly of aircraft or in handheld housings to record images on 5-inch roll film, meaning they have appropriate coverage for 4x5.

Aero Ektars are infamously radioactive, and the Thoriated elements can yellow with age, but this copy is uncommonly clear.
As we can see, the mount of the Speed graphic must be modified to accept this massive lens.

Pushing this lever to “back” activates the focal plane shutter, which is cocked by tensioning this knob.

Pressing in this silver button fires the shutter, and leaves the shutter ready to fire at the next speed down in the sequence, until all the tension is relieved and the shutter locks open.

Here’s a better view of the shutter, showing how each speed is achieved by increasing the spring tension and narrowing the width of the slit that exposes the film.

The Speed Graphic’s fast 1/1000th top speed allows us to shoot with the Aero Ektar wide open in daylight on these sheets of expired Tri-X 4x5, which we rated at ISO 100.

Depressing these two tabs unlocks the ground glass assembly, which unfolds and pops up to shade the glass.

In this case it has been modified with a homemade loupe attachment, which does make it easier to dial in precise focus without having to hold a loupe to the glass.

Extending the lens panel back into position, we can now re-mount the lens to the camera.

It’s a very tight fit, and the weight of this lens has bent the front standard, so we’re going to use the drop-bed feature, usually used for wide-angle lenses, in combination with front standard tilt, to bring the lens parallel to the film plane.

This will give us a flat plane of focus, but because of the angle of the drop bed, our composition will change slightly as we adjust the focus.

The Aero Ektar and Speed Graphic are difficult to beat for portrait photography — nothing looks quite like this lens, and we had a great time shooting with it. What’s your preferred portrait setup?

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